Sometimes there is a need to hide files on a Mac from other people's eyes. I'll share some effective ways to hide and unhide files and folders on your Mac with you today. First of all, we will take a look at some built-in Mac functions and after that, I will guide you through the process of how you can hide files and folder in one click.
For those who in hurry download Hider 2 app (it's free for download) the app will help you to hide and unhide files and folders on your Mac easily.
All other, let’s start!
For those who in hurry download Hider 2 app (it's free for download) the app will help you to hide and unhide files and folders on your Mac easily.
All other, let’s start!
How to Hide Files on Mac using Terminal
On Mac, you'll use a quick Terminal command to hide folders. Just type this into Terminal, replacing /path/to/folder with the folder you want to hide: chflags hidden /path/to/file-or-folder. As you see hiding files on Mac can be much easier to use the special app then built-in functions of the Terminal. Conclusions: How to Hide or Unhide Files and Folders on Mac. Of course, you can always use the Terminal to hide and unhide files and folders on your Mac, but the. Feb 12, 2018 Note that with hidden files made visible, they will become visible in all folders on the Mac, just like what happens if you use the defaults command to show hidden files in Mac OS and Mac OS X.The big difference between modern Mac OS releases and earlier versions of system software is that now the Command + Shift + Period keyboard shortcut is available to show and hide invisible items in. Feb 21, 2020 Mac file recovery software supports you to find and restore all hidden files on Mac computer or external storage devices with simple clicks. Download for Mac Download for PC Recently we got a question from a user whether it is possible to find files that are hidden on a mac hard drive. The following three methods will help you unhide files on Mac and we have even added a method that could help you recover lost files on Mac. Method 1: Unhide files on Mac using Keyboard Shortcuts The keyboard shortcut that we used to hide hidden files in Mac is the same combo that is used to show the hidden files.
Let's see what ways the Mac OS offers us. They are completely free and quite effective. We’ll use the standard Mac app called 'Terminal' that can be found on any Mac (just open Spotlight and type 'Terminal' then press Enter to open the Terminal).
![Software To Hide Files In Mac Software To Hide Files In Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126337498/169761333.jpg)
Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to hide files and folders on your Mac manually using Terminal:
- Open the Terminal window. After it opens, type the command I noted below (a space between the words is obligatory).
![App to hide files on mac App to hide files on mac](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126337498/148006629.png)
chflags hidden
- Next, drag-and-drop a file or a folder from the Finder into the opened Terminal window.
The file/folder path will appear in the Terminal. The command is run by pressing Enter. It will make the file/folder vanish. The Finder won’t show such files anymore. But don’t worry, as the command doesn’t delete them, but hides.
How to Find Hidden Files/Folders on Mac OS X
There wouldn’t be any problems if you need to have a quick access to the hidden files or folders. Open the Finder, Click the ‘Go’ menu, and then tap on the 'Go to folder'.
Insert the folder path which we hide before into the dialog box, then press Enter or click Go. ‘~’ means your user folder. For example, if you have a folder with the name ‘SomeSecret’ on the desktop, enter ~/Desktop/SomeSecret. If this folder is located in Documents, enter ~/Documents/SomeSecret.
Now you know how to access the hidden folders even if they don’t appear in save dialogs or the Finder. All the files that were stored in that folder will be hidden, so it’s no chance that someone would open them accidentally in that way. You’ll see them only by typing the direct path in the Finder.
Let’s Learn How to Views Hidden Files on Mac via the Finder
Yes, you read this right. The Finder can’t show us hidden folders but offers such an option for files. Still, it’s not a graphical option, so you’ll have to work with the Terminal and restart the Finder.
Open a Terminal window and type the commands noted below. Press Enter after each command.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
The first one tells Finder to make your hidden files appear and the second command restarts it. Once you’ve done, hidden files will become visible in the Finder. If you wish to hide those files again, run the following commands:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
They disable the option of showing all your files and restart the Finder.
How to Unhide a Folder or File on Mac OS X Manually
Unhiding folders and files on your Mac are as simple as it can be! Run the same command that you used for hiding them, but change ‘hidden’ to ‘nohidden’. Or copy this text into a Terminal window:
chflags nohidden
If you know the exact path of the hidden folder or file, type it. If you don’t, try to display them in Finder in the way I mentioned above and drag and drop them into the Terminal.
By the way, you can use the arrow buttons to manage these files. Press the ‘Up’ key while you are using the Terminal to move through the previous commands and find the one that made the folder or file you need hidden. Use the ‘Left’ arrow key to move to the ‘hidden’ part of that command and shift it to ‘nohidden’, then press Enter.
Don’t forget to push Enter then folder or file becomes unhidden to save the changes.
In general, hiding folders and files on your Mac may be useful, if you share your working machine with others.
How to Hide Files and Folders on your Mac using the Hider 2 App
Now you know how to hide your secrets with the Terminal. However, there is another easier way to hide files and folders on your Mac. The app I talk about is calledHider 2. It has an excellent and thoughtful interface, so you’ll understand how to use it in a couple of minutes. Let's see how this works:
- At first, download Hider 2 (it’s free for Download) and install it on your Mac
- Open the app, go through the initial setup, select a name and a password for your Vault. You’ll use them for opening your secret file vault (you can also specify a hint that you would help you to remind the password in case you forget it).
Then the Hider 2 interface will appear. You’ll have an opportunity of adding and deleting files and folders there, as well as hiding or making them visible again.
Now let’s try to hide a folder and all files in it. For instance, I’ve created a folder called ‘My Secret Files’. Now we can try to click the plus button at the bottom of Hider 2 window and select the files on your Mac that need to be added to your secret vault.
After that, press Open button and notice that they’ve become invisible. The slider from the right side changed from ‘visible’ to ‘invisible’ state in the Hider interface. The files themselves appear to be gone from the folder now (they are invisible). That’s it! We have hidden the files we needed.
There is a special button called ‘Lock Hider’ (at the top left corner of the window) that closes the app and doesn’t give access to it without the password. Hence, no one will be able to access your vault. As you see hiding files on Mac can be much easier to use the special app then built-in functions of the Terminal.
Conclusions: How to Hide or Unhide Files and Folders on Mac
Of course, you can always use the Terminal to hide and unhide files and folders on your Mac, but the process seems to be long and uncomfortable. Moreover, you don’t have a list of all the hidden files, plus they aren’t located in one place.
Hider 2, on the contrary, stores all your files in one place. You can see a list of all your safely hidden files anytime you need. You can hide or unhide any folder or file in just one click. Hider offers an opportunity for storing your secret notes in one place as well. It’s very convenient.
The main disadvantage of Hider 2 is the fact that a paid version costs about $20. Still, it’s a one-time fee. I think it's worth it.
Thank you for reading this article!
Summary
If you cannot view some important hidden files on your Mac computer, do not worry. Here, you can find reliable methods to effectively find and make hidden files show up on Mac. Mac file recovery software supports you to find and restore all hidden files on Mac computer or external storage devices with simple clicks.
Recently we got a question from a user whether it is possible to find files that are hidden on a mac hard drive.
'I got some important files saved on my Mac disk and I hide them on the computer so to avoid accidental deletion. Now I want to use some of these hidden files. So do you have a simple way that can help me to view, see and find hidden files on my Mac?'
The answer is YES. You can just follow the provided methods to find the hidden files on your Mac computer or hard disk, external storage devices.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Fix 1. View Hidden Files With Finder | Open a new Finder window > click on the name of your Mac under 'Devices' > click on System...Full steps |
Fix 2. Show Hidden Files With Terminal | Open Terminal > Copy and paste the command into the Terminal window...Full steps |
Fix 3. Restore With Software | Download EaseUS file recovery software for Mac > Choose a drive to scan > preview and recover...Full steps |
If you are a Windows user, refer to recover hidden files on PC to make hidden files show up on your Windows computer.
Method 1. View Hidden Files on Mac With Finder
When you want to see the hidden files, this is the quickest way to find the hidden files.
Step 1. Open a new Finder window and click on the name of your Mac under 'Devices' in the sidebar.
Step 2. Click on System, or whatever you’ve called your startup drive if you’ve renamed it.
Step 3. Press 'Command-Shift-. (period)'. You should now see lots of files and folders whose name starts with '.' become visible.
Step 4. To re-hide the files and folders, hold down 'Command-Shift-.' again.
Method 2. Show Hidden Files and Folder on Mac With Terminal
If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can use the Terminal command line interface to view hidden files and folders. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1. Open Terminal application from Launchpad.
Step 2. Copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
Step 3. Restart Finder with a command: killall Finder.
Then you'll be able to see all hidden files and folders in the Finder.
Method 3. Restore/Show Hidden Files With Mac File Recovery Software
The third way to show hidden files is the easiest one. It does not require any specific knowledge and can be used by both experienced users and novice Mac users. Also, this way is safe and convenient, as it allows you to show hidden files with simple clicks. This is possible thanks to the mac file recovery software.
Here EaseUS file recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac enables you to find and restore all hidden files on Mac computer or external storage devices. Just download and install this software on your Mac computer.
Note: If your hidden files are less than 2GB, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Free Edition can help. You don't need to pay anything with this free file recovery software.
Step 1. Select the disk location (it can be an internal HDD/SSD or a removable storage device) where you lost data and files. Click the Scan button.
Step 2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results on the left pane.
Step 3. In the scan results, select the file(s) and click Recover Now button to have them back.
Conclusion
If you need to show hidden files on your Mac, whether, for troubleshooting or clearing mac junk files, the methods provided above will help you to complete your task. You can choose which one to use, nevertheless, we recommend that you use the third way as the easiest and quickest method. With a help of EaseUS, you can:
Software To Hide Files In Mac Pro
Hide Folders Software
- Switch files visibility
- Find hidden files
- Recover all lost, deleted and formatted data
Software To Hide Files In Mac Download
Also, remember to be careful with hidden files. If you are not sure what you are doing, you can cause some serious damage pretty quickly.